India Data Demand Will Hasten 5G Rollout: Nokia Chief

The “explosion of data is massive” in India and this demand will push the country towards deploying 5G by 2020, making it one of the first to do so, Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri told The Economic Times.

He also said consolidation in the telecoms market “was a necessary thing. It is good for the long-term health of the market”.

“India may well become the top country in terms of mobile data consumption per user per month, resulting in a need for a lot of network capacity…， Now, the move to 5G will have to happen at a more accelerated pace. 2018 will be a year of more stability even though there is a shake-up”.

Suri added “the country should auction 5G spectrum at some point in the right band and have enough per operator” and recommended “the 3.5GHz band…， the millimeter band and maybe some low band spectrum over time”.

“By 2020, significant 5G roll outs could begin in India, making it one of the few countries to go 5G. The first phase of 5G (for Nokia) will be consumer driven and then it will be industrial driven,” he added.

Suri also commented on a long-running tax dispute between the vendor and India’s government: “Clearly, we will be able to find a solution to the tax situation between the two governments, Finland and India…, We hope to make some announcements during the first quarter results.”